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40 minutes ago, navybsn said:

Just gonna put out there that DT has yet to make an album I haven't liked. Honestly wish more legacy bands took there approach of switching things up while maintaining your musical integrity than just trying to rehash the good old days in search of another magic album like the one that gave them their status. As much as I dislike modern Metallica, I've more respect for them than many of their contemporaries because they took a chance on a new sound and stuck with it. They're not trend hopping like many did when grunge hit or after the Black album when everyone tried to duplicate the success but quickly abandoned it when it didn't work out.

I agree if it's done well and not with overt commercial intent.  It's funny how often bands "evolution" somehow is always more mainstream, softer and more commercial than their previous material.

It's rare for a band to get more extreme - Pantera and Skid Row come to mind but that's it.  Dan Liker's another one - from speed/thrash to crossover to death/grind but he did it through different bands (Anthrax, SOD, Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth).

Metallica are an interesting case - somehow I don't think they had as much input into their creative direction as we might think due to them being a serious heavyweight.  The label and management went into overdrive promoting Black album before it was released.  Indeed Load and Reload didn't see them just change sound but also image.  It all seemed extremely manufactured.  James even mentioned how much he hated that whole period.

Obituary - Slowly We Rot

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11 hours ago, markm said:
  • King Buffalo/Dead Star-I think Jon really liked this one....enjoyable at minimum. There's not a lot you can say bad about King Buffalo. Unfortunately for me, there's not a lot great to say either which is to say, it's perfectly fine but that's all. 

"Really like" is relative. I think these guys are astoundingly consistent and every sound they make is cool, but it is still  mostly background music. I must have listened to the newest one a dozen times and couldn't whistle you back a single melody. Still good, but The Burden of Restlessness is probably all one needs of King Buffalo.

Undeath - It's TIme...To Rise From the Grave 

It's Time...To Rise From the Grave | Undeath (bandcamp.com)

Meat and potatoes, but I happened to notice they are playing at my local pub in January, so bought a ticket and the album to prep.

NP: A Romance With Violence | Wayfarer (bandcamp.com)

Remember these guys? Western themed black metal. Quite enjoy both albums I have. They must be due a new one.....but in the meantime I noticed they have one from 2016 I haven't heard.

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Toxik - Dis Morta (2022)

First listen to the album. It sounds nice, with some progressive passages.

Tom Hunting style drums (I don't like it).

Ron Iglesias (vocals) seems to be having a blast with his high-pitched voice, but I much preferred him in Xenophile (RIP).

Edit : I just finished the album. I'm not thrilled. There are some good songs but overall it's not an album I'll listen to often.

Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun (2022)

Crown of Thorns - The Burning (1995)

 

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6 hours ago, Dead1 said:

I agree if it's done well and not with overt commercial intent.  It's funny how often bands "evolution" somehow is always more mainstream, softer and more commercial than their previous material.

It's rare for a band to get more extreme - Pantera and Skid Row come to mind but that's it.  Dan Liker's another one - from speed/thrash to crossover to death/grind but he did it through different bands (Anthrax, SOD, Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth).

Metallica are an interesting case - somehow I don't think they had as much input into their creative direction as we might think due to them being a serious heavyweight.  The label and management went into overdrive promoting Black album before it was released.  Indeed Load and Reload didn't see them just change sound but also image.  It all seemed extremely manufactured.  James even mentioned how much he hated that whole period.

Obituary - Slowly We Rot

Yeah they probably had little say after Black struck gold, at least for a few years. But they obviously got it back after a while or else we wouldn't have masterpieces like LuLu. No label or management on the planet could have ever directed that "artistic direction".

Bands get less heavy because people mellow with age generally. It's hard to maintain that edge when you get a little older, a little money, and get off the heroin. There are exceptions of course. Plus, I think that younger bands don't have the ability to act on some of their ideas until they get older and improve their skills. You could also argue that more time equals exposure to more influences that generate more possible directions.

3 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Undeath - It's TIme...To Rise From the Grave 

It's Time...To Rise From the Grave | Undeath (bandcamp.com)

Meat and potatoes, but I happened to notice they are playing at my local pub in January, so bought a ticket and the album to prep.

Saw them in August. Decent live but nothing special. Fairly indistinguishable from Frozen Soul, 200 Stab Wounds, Squishabug, and that lot of new death metal bands.

 

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8 hours ago, navybsn said:

Just gonna put out there that DT has yet to make an album I haven't liked. Honestly wish more legacy bands took there approach of switching things up while maintaining your musical integrity than just trying to rehash the good old days in search of another magic album like the one that gave them their status. As much as I dislike modern Metallica, I've more respect for them than many of their contemporaries because they took a chance on a new sound and stuck with it. They're not trend hopping like many did when grunge hit or after the Black album when everyone tried to duplicate the success but quickly abandoned it when it didn't work out. For DT, if they had continued to make stuff in the vein of the trilogy, or the period immediately after, I think they would be a parody at this point. They haven't become that and stay relevant/interesting because they change it up. Bathory is another good example of a band (artist) that wasn't afraid to make a drastic change. I'd put Enslaved and Opeth in that category too.

DT exists in their own world outside of our silly mortal dimension. The rules just don't apply to them the way they do to other bands, and that's just unheard of for a band 30 years old. They have full license from me to do whatever the fuck floats their boat short of an Illud-level debacle for the rest of time. May not be an AOTY situation, but they won't fail to get my money.

I haven't gotten into anything Darkthrone has done since Sardonic Wrath, but I feel the same... much more respect for the bands who follow their own path than the ones who sound like they're doing what they think they're supposed to be doing. 

NP: Dream Unending - Tide Turns Eternal   ...jury's still out on the new one, but this one hasn't lost any of its charm.

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2 hours ago, navybsn said:

Saw them in August. Decent live but nothing special. Fairly indistinguishable from Frozen Soul, 200 Stab Wounds, Squishabug, and that lot of new death metal bands.

Will be a good night out and thankful that the lads could fit in a visit to Nowhereshire, UK. Gotta support the initiative. Mind you, according to Nergal there are a billion bands all touring at once and no one can afford to go to everything/anything due to cost of living crisis. 

Yet, this is not my observation. There are fuck all gigs I can find close to home or in London for the next few months. Brexit fucked touring a bit for bands that are passing through Europe and want to hop to the UK. More red tape and expenses. Bands get held up at customs now. Thanks again David. Dick.

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32 minutes ago, JonoBlade said:

Will be a good night out and thankful that the lads could fit in a visit to Nowhereshire, UK. Gotta support the initiative. Mind you, according to Nergal there are a billion bands all touring at once and no one can afford to go to everything/anything due to cost of living crisis. 

Yet, this is not my observation. There are fuck all gigs I can find close to home or in London for the next few months. Brexit fucked touring a bit for bands that are passing through Europe and want to hop to the UK. More red tape and expenses. Bands get held up at customs now. Thanks again David. Dick.

That guy is a douche. Maybe turnout for Behemoth gigs is what it is because they suck. 2 decent gigs in the last 6 months in my area. Everything else has been 3-5 hours minimum travel this year. We do not have a plethora of gigs to decide between. Maybe in larger Euro cities or NE US.

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57 minutes ago, JonoBlade said:

Will be a good night out and thankful that the lads could fit in a visit to Nowhereshire, UK.

I thought you were nestled somewhere in the London suburbs?  Blackheath or Brixton or Finchley or Cricklewood or somewhere like that. Or are you farther out than that?

3 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Bunch of great gigs (for me anyway) have been coming to St Vitus, which is tantalizingly close - 4ish hours - but they always happen on weeknights and I can't make the trip. It's a bummer. 

NP: 

Killing Joke - Night Time 

Killing Joke - Outside the Gate

I used to have a stop on Manhattan Ave, a Polish meat market just a few blocks down from St Vitus. I remember driving by to scope the place out one time because Dead Congregation were coming to town. I had it in my head they were playing in November, but when it got close to November and I went online to see about tickets I realized the gig had already taken place October 20th just a few days prior. So I've still never been inside the place. I've seen a ton of live videos of bands playing there though. They've certainly had a shitload of great bands on their stage.

Love your Killing Joke deep dive, they've become one of my favorite bands in just a few short months. Don't think I can go 3 days without playing one of their albums or another.

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10 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I thought you were nestled somewhere in the London suburbs?  Blackheath or Brixton or Finchley or Cricklewood or somewhere like that. Or are you farther out than that?

I used to have a stop on Manhattan Ave, a Polish meat market just a few blocks down from St Vitus. I remember driving by to scope the place out one time because Dead Congregation were coming to town. I had it in my head they were playing in November, but when it got close to November and I went online to see about tickets I realized the gig had already taken place October 20th just a few days prior. So I've still never been inside the place. I've seen a ton of live videos of bands playing there though. They've certainly had a shitload of great bands on their stage.

Love your Killing Joke deep dive, they've become one of my favorite bands in just a few short months. Don't think I can go 3 days without playing one of their albums or another.

I missed Dead Congregation too - still annoyed about that - but I saw a bunch of cool shows there, tours and local stuff. I used to live about a 45 minute walk away, and usually just did that instead of the guaranteed 30+ minutes on the subway. I think my favorite thing about the place was how it always felt like a chill local spot no matter who was playing. 

I'm totally binging on KJ right now. Addictive melodies, stuff gets stuck in my head for days at a time. I only knew them from Night Time and Pandemonium before this. I'm really impressed by the variety in their other stuff so far. Outside The Gate was an instant winner. And my daughter seems to like them, she does her happy music dance when she hears the drums kick in. 

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18 hours ago, Thatguy said:

REMINA - Strata. Put me in mind of The Gathering. Lovely female vocals.

ULTHAR - Nightgaunts MMXVI  -  Nothing lovely about this. Good stuff.

I've still never heard this band The Gathering you guys sometimes talk about. So I just dialed them up. Imagine my surprise when I heard a dude growling at me. 8 minutes in now and where the hell are the lovely female vox?

The Gathering - Always

 

OK I gave up on that one from '92 when I saw on M-A that she only joined the band in '94. So let's try another one: 

The Gathering - How to Measure a Planet? 1998...Oh. This is not good at all. Guess that explains why I never heard of them. But how did this get a 91 on M-A?!? Those scores have gotta be rigged I tell ya.

 

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14 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I've still never heard this band The Gathering you guys sometimes talk about. So I just dialed them up. Imagine my surprise when I heard a dude growling at me. 8 minutes in now and where the hell are the lovely female vox?

They switched directions pretty thoroughly. My two favorites with their vocalist Anneke are Mandylion and If_Then_Else. Not much metal happening, it's basically pop rock. She's got a great voice and really good sense of melody. I mostly put it on when we're in the car and Portishead is too depressing for my wife.

 

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1 hour ago, FatherAlabaster said:

They switched directions pretty thoroughly. My two favorites with their vocalist Anneke are Mandylion and If_Then_Else. Not much metal happening, it's basically pop rock. She's got a great voice and really good sense of melody. I mostly put it on when we're in the car and Portishead is too depressing for my wife.

 

I love those two albums, too. Anneke is a Goddess. Agreed they are marginally metal at best but a very cool band. Some goth, some rock some prog, some doom even with Mandylion arguably. But basically a rock band. 

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